The present invention relates to a bucket of a stage of a gas turbine and particularly relates to a first stage turbine bucket airfoil internal core profile.
Many system requirements must be met for each stage of the hot gas path section of a gas turbine in order to meet design goals including overall improved efficiency and airfoil loading. Particularly, the buckets of the first stage of the turbine section must meet the operating requirements for that particular stage and also meet requirements for bucket cooling flow, weight and bucket life. Internal cooling requirements must be optimized, necessitating a unique internal core airfoil profile to meet stage performance requirements enabling the turbine to operate in a safe, efficient and smooth manner.